Reading the recent Tomb Raider Trilogy announcement was a little disappointing, wasn't it? The PS3 exclusive pack and self-described "HD remastering" weren't for the PlayStation and PC outings of the late '90s but the last three adventures released this generation (which, unless I'm mistaken, are already in HD). Although these games are actually very good, and the originals would be awkward to go back to - with their tank-like, clunky controls and abundance of feminine grunts with every leap and bound - wouldn't it have been nice to revisit them for old time's sake?

It was around 15 years ago that the gaming world was obsessed with Lara Croft's adventures. Although the second game was probably the best in the series, Tomb Raider III was easily the most interesting. It saw a shift towards more diverse, modern locations such as London, Area 51 and a snowy Antarctic base - a breath of fresh air compared to the claustrophobic, stuffy tombs we were used to. The ability to choose your destination after the opening mission in India added a degree of freedom in an otherwise linear adventure, and in terms of level design, the addition of overhead climbing gave exploration a lift, while sweeping currents, ice cold temperatures and flesh-eating piranhas made water a formidable hazard outside of bog-standard drowning.

But this game was mostly notable for its incredible difficulty. Timer and location based puzzles were abundant thanks to a sprinting ability and a more flexible range of moves in Lara's arsenal, while many of the urban environments were filled with sentries that relied on gunplay and stealth to progress past, which were easily the game's weakest suits. And it was all made worse by an obnoxious save system; although you could save anywhere using crystals, their finite amount meant you had to use them sparingly, leading to overly conservative play and huge stretches of trial and error if you couldn't save for a long period.

Although choosing the next mission was a nice touch, there was no way to backtrack if the player was stuck during a difficult platforming section or puzzle to try another stage. Granted, a linear adventure would yield the same problem, but it felt as if you were cruelly mishandled by the game for picking the toughest or most unfamiliar area first, and so you had to restart the game and choose another area to keep playing - something which I had to do several times. Eventually I gave up playing the game properly and used cheat codes to delve into chapters of my choosing, moving on when I couldn't overcome savage locals of a Pacific Island or a sneaking section in the bowels of a Nevada base, and ended up enjoying it a whole lot more as a result.

It was a frustrating adventure thanks to some poor design decisions, but it was still marvellous fun to actually play. And let's not forget the best part about the whole game - nay, the entire Tomb Raider franchise - which was Lara's mansion, a sprawling tutorial area that increased in size and variety with each new game, adding a quad bike, assault course and garden maze to play around in, and of course, the butler that you could infamously lure into the freezer and trap inside. Although the core gameplay of the Tomb Raider series didn't evolve much as the games went on, even by this third instalment there was nothing quite like it in the 3D adventuring stakes, and it went on to inspire the modern Prince Of Persia games, Naughty Dog's Uncharted and so much more.

Do you have many fond memories of Tomb Raider III or other games in the series? Add a comment to the space below!.